Strange Liverpool!

THE TURNS HAVE REVERSED

Liverpool started the season with seven consecutive wins across all three competitions: the Premier League, the Champions League, and the League Cup. The winning goal in six of those seven matches was scored in the final seven minutes, including injury time. Only their opening match, a 4-2 victory against Bournemouth in the Premier League, had a margin of more than one goal, and both goals that secured the win were late goals (scored in the 88th and 90+4th minutes).

Lạ lùng Liverpool!- Ảnh 1. — Liverpool surprisingly lost 3 consecutive matches.

Luck? If so, Liverpool's fortunes have now turned around. Immediately after the aforementioned seven-game winning streak, Liverpool have now lost three consecutive matches in the Premier League and Champions League. This is the first time since taking over as Liverpool manager that Arne Slot has experienced three consecutive defeats. Two of those losses came in injury time: 1-2 against Crystal Palace (the winning goal in the 90+7th minute) and 1-2 against Chelsea (in the 90+5th minute). Between those two matches, Liverpool lost 0-1 to Galatasaray in the Champions League. Coach Slot reassured that these were very narrow margins. In fact, Liverpool's wins earlier in the season were just as precarious!

Perhaps the most comforting detail for Liverpool fans right now is that club football has been temporarily suspended to make way for the World Cup qualifiers for national teams. At least, manager Slot and his assistants will have two weeks to review the issues and try to end the mini-crisis for the team that was considered the strongest in Europe at the beginning of the season.

Depending on one's perspective, late goals can be considered a matter of luck, since football is inherently highly unpredictable. However, saying that about Liverpool is already difficult to accept. A top European team cannot simply leave its fate to chance. The question is why Liverpool's matches always feature late goals.

They are both capable of scoring goals.

"They" here includes both Liverpool and their opponents. In total, across the team's 10 matches this season (7 in the Premier League, 2 in the Champions League, and 1 in the League Cup), late goals (after the 80th minute) were scored in 8 of those games. Liverpool won 6 and lost 2. There were a total of 10 late goals in those 8 matches: 8 for Liverpool and 2 against their opponents.

Both late goals conceded resulted in Liverpool losing the match, while six of the eight late goals secured victories for manager Slot's team. Liverpool needed two late goals to beat Bournemouth. And when they scored a late goal against Palace, they conceded immediately afterwards, resulting in a defeat!

Liverpool's problem this season is that the "big-name" signings made in the summer of 2025 have all been focused on the attack, but both new players, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who recently set transfer records, have contributed almost nothing significant. Only striker Hugo Ekitz has been quite good, but he's been suspended at times and injured at others.

On the other hand, manager Slot finds it difficult to use both strikers Ekitike and Isak simultaneously. The same applies to midfield, now that Liverpool have Wirtz. In short, Slot is still struggling to find the right attacking formula.

Of course, Liverpool are always a team that plays to win, competing for the championship. They have to go all out in attack when the match is nearing its end and the score is tied. As mentioned, Liverpool are always under pressure to find a way to score while they themselves lack an effective attacking formula.

Liverpool's already shaky defense was further exposed in such circumstances, and their opponents saw it clearly. In theory, both Liverpool and their opponents wanted, and were capable of, scoring against each other late in the match. Playing against Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Manchester City, if they could hold out until the middle of the second half, it's highly likely that any team would retreat to defend. But against Liverpool, they would boldly engage in an attacking game!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/la-lung-liverpool-18525100518371162.htm